Ukrainian "Scythian Art" exhibit touring USA
Amazons
their Web site:
http://www.nytimes.com/00/01/01/travel/ta991226.html
Scythian Treasures to Tour U.S. Museums
For 400 years the Scythians, a tribe of
nomadic horsemen, ruled over the
European steppe stretching from the
Danube, east across what is now Ukraine and
into Russia, with their reign reaching its
height more than 2,500 years ago. Among the
legacies of their culture is some of the
most accomplished gold artwork ever
produced.
Some 170 of these artifacts from the Museum
of Historical Treasures of Ukraine-Kiev, the
Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of
Sciences of Ukraine-Kiev and the State
Historical Archaeological
Preserve-Pereiaslav may now be seen at the
San Antonio Museum of Art, where the
exhibition "Gold of the Nomads: Scythian
Treasures from Ancient Ukraine" will run
through Jan. 30. Over the next year, the
objects will travel to the Walters Art
Gallery in Baltimore, the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art,
the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas
City, Mo., and the Grand Palais in Paris.
Most of the lavish gold jewelry, vessels and
weaponry, which were found in burial mounds
known as kurhans in Ukraine, were
commissioned by the Scythians from Greek
workshops along the northern coast of the
Black Sea.
Among the objects on display are a gold
helmet with combat scenes depicted in
relief, plaques decorated with images of
winged dragons, fourth-century Sphinx
earrings, a fourth-century gold headdress,
swords, scabbards and daggers. Most of the
objects were only recently excavated and
will be viewed for the first time outside of
Ukraine. These treasures probably represent
only a fraction of the Scythian legacy;
experts say some 40,000 kurhans await
excavation.
The San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 West
Jones Street, is open Tuesday to Sunday.
General admission is $5, $1.75 ages 4 to 11,
$4 ages 65 and up and for students;
admission to the Scythian exhibition is an
additional $5 a person regardless of age.
Information: (210) 978-8100.
-- ALISHA BERGER